Why the Washington DC suburbs need to rethink this light-rail project
August 15, 2015 – MarketWatch
Some infrastructure projects are wasteful and unnecessary. Take, for example, the Purple Line. Read here…
Will a new legal development derail the Purple Line?
August 9, 2016 – Kojo Nnamdi Show WAMU
Will the Purple Line ever get built? We get an update on the fight… Listen here…
Federal Judge orders further study of Purple Line, delays start
August 3, 2016 – WTOP
A federal judge canceled government approval of the Purple Line citing ongoing problems with Metrorail… Read here…
Judge says Metro’s ‘extraordinary’ maintenance and ridership problems could affect Purple Line
June 15, 2016 – Washington Post
A federal judge said Wednesday that it would make “common sense” for the Maryland Transit Administration to consider Metro’s “extraordinary” maintenance problems and declining ridership before it builds a light-rail Purple Line that would connect to it. Read here…
Purple Line’s foes add Metro safety, maintenance problems to legal argument
May 29, 2016 – Washington Post
Metro’s mounting maintenance and safety problems have provided a fresh legal argument for opponents of the Purple Line, who say Maryland can’t afford to build a new light-rail when the subway system it will connect to needs millions in repairs. Read here…
The Purple Line is a con job
March 16, 2016 – Washington Post
The total cost of the Purple Line is hidden in formulas that cannot be deciphered in the time allowed for review. This was also done with the official ridership estimates Read here…
The Future of the Purple Line
March 7, 2016 – The Kojo Nnamdi Show
John Fitzgerald, co-plaintiff in the federal lawsuit by Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, joins Kojo’s panel on the Purple Line. Listen here…
Lawsuit May Threaten MD Purple Line Plans
March 1, 2016 – 4NBC
Many businesses in Chevy Chase, Maryland, are now vacant in an area along the planned Purple Line route […] but a lawsuit could stop the project in its tracks. Read more…
How Many People Will Ride the Purple Line?
September 26, 2015 – Washington Post
Purple Line ridership estimates “remain a mystery” reports the Washington Post. Read more…
“No funding should be allocated to Purple Line until numbers are transparent and credible and until court has ruled on whether federal transparency requirements have been met,”
responds a Letter to Editor. Read more…
How City Living May Be Harming Your Mental Health
July 01, 2015 – huffingtonpost.com
“By bringing more pockets of nature into cities — whether on rooftops, in empty lots or even along <atarget=”blank” href=”http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/ny-high-line/goldberger-text”>old railroad tracks — urban planners and policymakers can help improve the mental health of their inhabitants.”
How City Living May Be Harming Your Mental Health, And What You Can Do About It Read more…
New Purple Line Study Fails Economics 101
April 27, 2015 – economics21.org
A new study by Transportation Economics and Management Systems (TEMS) purports to show that Maryland would gain by building the Purple Line, a 16-mile light rail project just north of Washington D.C. that is anticipated to cost $2.5 billion.Read more…
Myths about the Purple Line
April 2, 2015 – MarylandReporter.com
Simply put, the Purple Line fails the basic test of balancing costs and benefits. The costs are substantially understated and the benefits are very meager. The Purple Line will not result in substantial economic development along the Purple Line corridor, and clearly will not ease traffic congestion.Read more…
Purple Line reasoning ignores important factors
March 4, 2015 – gazette.net
Operations alone of the Purple Line would lead to a net INCREASE of greenhouse gas emissions of over 20,000 tons of CO2 a year. But the overall impact will in fact be worse. Read more…
Study: Purple Line could do more harm than good
March 18, 2015 – Maryland Public Policy Institute
A study released by the Maryland Public Policy Institute reveals that the proposed Purple Line project could do more harm than good to the greater Washington transportation system. The study sheds light on the likelihood of unaffordable cost overruns, overly optimistic ridership projections, high maintenance costs and inability to substantially improve road congestion as fatal flaws for the project. Read more…
State audit finds Maryland agency didn’t verify Purple Line design firm payments
February 25, 2015 – Washington Post
The Maryland Transit Administration didn’t properly oversee millions in state payments made to private consultants designing a light-rail Purple Line for the Washington suburbs and a light-rail Red Line for Baltimore, a state audit has found. The findings pertain to nearly $233 million in contract payments. Read more…
If the Line has to be purple, use paint
February 18, 2015 – Bethesda Gazette
John Hughes of Germantown, Maryland, who coined the term “Purple Line,” writes that Gov. Hogan should cancel the Purple Line, and also announce the Capital Crescent Trail will be extended as a bicycle/pedestrian pathway from Bethesda to Rock Creek Park to Silver Spring. Read more…
To save money on building rail, spend money on marketing buses
February 10, 2015 – The New York Times
Transit agencies are spending millions of dollars on new rail infrastructure that is no faster than existing bus service, simply because riders perceive a train as better than a bus. Read more…
Evidence shows that Purple Line could be ruinous
January 28, 2015 – Bethesda Gazette
Environmental advocate John Fitzgerald makes the case FOR saving the Trail and the habitat it supports, and AGAINST the Purple Line, with links to expert studies that you can use. Read more…
Maryland’s incredible purple people mover
June 27, 2014 – Wall Street Journal
How the state’s proposed $2.4 billion light rail could take taxpayers for a ride. Read more…
Group sues to stop Purple Line on behalf of a shrimp-like species
September 1, 2014 – WAMU
The proposed Purple Line would require deforestation of areas around the Capital Crescent Trail, which are also reportedly habitats of several species of endangered amphipods. Read more…
Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail file lawsuit over proposed Purple Line route saying it endangers a protected species
August 27, 2014 – WJLA
A trail group in Bethesda, Maryland, is suing the U.S. Transportation Department, alleging a planned light-rail route through some Washington suburbs would harm two rare, shrimp-like creatures. Read more and watch video…
Maryland’s incredible purple people mover
June 27, 2014 – Wall Street Journal
How the state’s proposed $2.4 billion light rail could take taxpayers for a ride. Read more…
Endangered shrimp-like creature is in the path of the proposed Purple Line
December 3, 2013 – CBS Baltimore
It’s small, it’s very rare and it might just slow down construction of the purple line light rail route. Read more and watch video…
Tiny amphipod could alter Purple Line plans
December 2, 2013 – WJLA
White in color, measured in millimeters, and eyeless, the small Hay’s Spring amphipod has been making a big splash in talks over the purple line. The shrimp-like creature could possibly change the course of the project. Read more and watch video…
Washington Post: Purple Line’s obscure obstacle: The endangered Hay’s Spring amphipod
A rare shrimp-like creature found in Rock Creek Park — believed to be its only location in the world — could end up taking center stage in a fight against a proposed light-rail Purple Line in the Maryland suburbs. Read more…
